Okay, so they’re not Ted Turner. But even if the Texans on the following pages didn’t give a billion dollars to the United Nations, their acts of generosity deserve our gratitude.

In compiling our list, we tried to be as complete as possible. Philanthropy—thankfully—refuses to conform to anyone’s ideas of how, when, and where to give, so it’s hard to be definitive. But we consulted an array of sources. We did extensive research using public records, online databases, and press releases. When we could, we talked to the givers or their representatives. We searched The Chronicle of Philanthropy and the archives of the Foundation Center, which tracks foundation giving. We reviewed annual reports published by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel. And we pored over all the recent compilations of gifts, including those in Forbes, Fortune, The American Benefactor, and Slate magazines.

To compile our honor roll of donors, we used these “rules of the chase,” as Forbes calls them in its annual list of the wealthiest Americans:

• Every list needs boundaries, and ours has two: We counted only gifts made recently, which we defined as since June 1995, and we counted only major gifts, which we defined as $1 million or more. Thus, you won’t find Nancy Hamon’s $25 million gift to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, which paid for the construction of the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Biomedical Research Building; it was made in 1992.

• We tallied only publicly announced gifts that included both the donor’s name and the amount given. Many people prefer to give anonymously or not to publicize the amount of their gift. That’s why we haven’t listed the $25 million gift by an anonymous donor to UT-Southwestern for a scholars program in medical research. We also left out a gift by the family of Robert and Helen Strauss to UT-Southwestern to create two professorships and upgrade a third; because the amount wasn’t revealed, we couldn’t determine where the Strausses would rank. And the Dallas Symphony Orchestra reports that six individuals and families have recently made gifts of $1 million or more—two in excess of $2 million—with the stipulation that their names not be revealed.

• We did not list gifts from family members to their family foundations. Our reasoning is that the real gift occurs when the money moves from the donor’s control into the hands of a nonprofit organization. So Linda Pace Roberts’ endowment of a $10 million foundation to fund contemporary art does not appear. Nor do Raymond D. Nasher’s plans to build a two-acre sculpture garden in Dallas to house his $50 million sculpture collection, since the Nasher Foundation purchased the land and will own the art and pay for the development and maintenance of the garden [see “Raymond Nasher,” page 105].

• We restricted our list to people whose primary residence is in Texas. So Robert M. and Anne T. Bass made the cut, even though they also maintain a home in New York. But not Tyler native Larry Johnson, who plays for the NBA’s New York Knicks; his recent $1 million donation to build a recreation center in South Dallas is certainly worthy of note, but his business and home addresses are in New York.

• We did not include gifts from deceased Texans. Regrettably, that meant omitting Albert Kronkosky, Jr., who donated the bulk of his $300 million estate to charities in Bexar, Bandera, Comal, and Kendall counties. But the late James Michener qualified, since his gifts were made while he was still alive [see “James Michener,” page 103].

One final note: The timing of our list coincides with some institutions’ huge fundraising drives, called capital campaigns, so those institutions appear frequently. That’s why SMU comes up over and over. To the rest of you: Better luck next year.

Robert H. and Nancy Dedman

DALLAS, $33 MILLION $30 million to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the largest single gift ever received by the university. $12 million will be used as a challenge grant to build the Dedman Life Sciences Building, which will house SMU’s biological sciences department, state-of-the-art research facilities, and classrooms for all of the natural sciences. The remaining $18 million will be designated for other priorities of SMU’s ongoing capital campaign, which Mr. Dedman co-chairs. He is the founder and chairman of the board of ClubCorp International, the world’s largest network of private city, country, and athletic clubs and resorts. (April 1997)

$1.5 million to the University of North Texas in Denton to establish an endowed chair in club management. (November 1995)

$1.5 million to Florida State University in Tallahassee to help construct a new building for the college of business’ department of hospitality administration. (January 1997)

Previous gifts: $25 million to SMU; $10 million to the University of Texas at Austin, the largest single gift earmarked for scholarships in the school’s history.

Philosophy of giving: “They don’t put luggage racks on hearses,” Mr. Dedman has said. “You can’t take it with you.”

Robert M. and Anne T. Bass

FORT WORTH, $30 MILLION $20 million to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, to renovate residential colleges at the alma mater of Mr. Bass, whose Keystone, Inc., controls investments in financial services, publishing, real estate, and oil and gas. (May 1997)

$10 million to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, to enable “a sale on chairs.” The gift will allow Duke to make chairs for full professorships available for only $1.1 million instead of the usual $1.5 million—the idea being that the cut-rate price might entice 20 to 25 new donors to step forward. (September 1996)

Previous gifts: $25 million to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, which Mr. Bass also attended; $4 million to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Mrs. Bass’s alma mater.

H. R. “Bum” Bright

DALLAS, $25 MILLION $25 million to Texas A&M University in College Station for an unrestricted endowment, the largest gift of its type in the history of A&M and a precedent-setter in the annals of university giving. Traditionally gifts to universities are for specified (that is, restricted) purposes, but this one—from an Aggie alumnus and the chair of the university’s Corps of Cadets Endowment Campaign—comes with no strings attached; A&M’s president will determine how it will be spent. (May 1997)

Philosophy of giving: Unrestricted giving is the calling card of Mr. Bright, who over the years has owned an oil production company, savings and loans, freight lines, and the Dallas Cowboys. “I don’t think it appropriate that anyone should try to rule from the grave,” he said.

H. Ross and Margot Perot

DALLAS, $23.3 MILLION $23.3 million to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas to support the Erik Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease. “It has become clear that an investment in Southwestern produces major progress,” said Mr. Perot, the CEO of the Perot Group. (June 1996)

Previous gifts: A total of $20 million to UT-Southwestern; $15 million to the Texas Research Park; $14 million to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; $1 million to the Boy Scouts of America; and $1 million to Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, Mrs. Perot’s alma mater.

Gerald J. Ford

DALLAS, $20 MILLION $20 million to Southern Methodist University to help pay for the construction of a new stadium, which will be named after him, and an all-sports center. Mr. Ford, the chairman and CEO of California Federal Bank, has a bachelor’s and a law degree from SMU and is a trustee of the university. (June 1997)

Philosophy of giving: “At the very least,” Mr. Ford has said, “it will spare my children the expense of a tombstone.”

Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte

AUSTIN, $17.5 MILLION $12.5 million from their family foundation to Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. The gift, the largest in the university’s history, will be used to establish a permanent scholarship program; 100 undergraduates and 25 graduate students will get $5,000 each year. The Mittes are SWT alums; Mr. Mitte, the chairman and CEO of Financial Industries Corporation, an insurance and financial holding company, says the gift was designated for scholarships because he struggled financially while in school. (March 1997)

$5 million to swt to endow five distinguished professorships. (August 1997)

Joseph D. Jr. and Lee Jamail

HOUSTON, $16.25 MILLION $5 million to the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Jamail, a Houston attorney, has a bachelor’s and a law degree from UT. (September 1996)

$5 million to Rice University in Houston. (September 1996)

$3 million to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. (September 1996)

$1 million to the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. (September 1996)

$1 million to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (September 1996)

$1 million to the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. (September 1996)

$250,000 to Southern Methodist University. Mr. and Mrs. Jamail’s son Robert is an SMU alum. (February 1997)

Philosophy of giving: Mr. Jamail has said he gives because “it’s the human thing to do. Some people need help, and those who can help ought to help.”

James Michener

AUSTIN, $15.5 MILLION $10 million to the University of Texas at Austin to help build a new home for its Huntington Art Gallery. The centerpiece of the museum has long been Mr. Michener’s collection of twentieth-century art. (February 1997)

$3.5 million from the Michener Marital Trust to the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Michener’s hometown. (September 1996)

$1 million to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown. (September 1996)

$1 million to the Bucks County Free Library in Doylestown. (September 1996)

Previous gifts: Before his death in mid-October, the best-selling author had donated more than $100 million to libraries, universities, and museums, including more than $34 million to UT-Austin.

Bernard and Audre Rapoport

WACO, $15.1 MILLION $10.1 million to the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Liberal Arts to create an endowment for study-abroad scholarships and to allow faculty members to develop courses with an international flavor. The gift from the CEO of American Income Life Insurance Company and his wife reflects their interest in educating students in world affairs; Mr. Rapoport is an alumnus and former chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. (July 1997)

$5 million to UT-Austin to help build a new home for its Huntington Art Gallery. (February 1997)

Previous gifts: Since 1989 the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation has contributed approximately $9 million to organizations including Harvard University, the United Jewish Appeal, the Jerusalem Foundation, Planned Parenthood of Central Texas, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Philosophy of giving: “I was raised in the spirit of giving,” Mr. Rapoport has said. “When I was seven years old, I remember they were having a fundraiser at our house for two labor leaders who were in prison, and each person put in a quarter. My father said, ‘Maybe we ought to double it.’ All the women, the tears were coming down their eyes.”

L. Lowry Mays

SAN ANTONIO, $15 MILLION $15 million to Texas A&M University’s Business School, one of the largest gifts in A&M’s history. In recognition of the gift, the business school has been renamed the Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business. Mr. Mays, an Aggie alum and a regent emeritus of the Texas A&M University System, is the chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Communications, one of the nation’s largest broadcast companies. (August 1996)

The Hobby Family

HOUSTON, $12 MILLION $12 million to the Music Hall Foundation in Houston to help build a new downtown performing arts center. William P. Hobby, a former lieutenant governor of Texas, was the chancellor of the University of Houston System from 1995 to 1997 and has served on the governing board of Rice University, his alma mater. He was also president of the family-owned Houston Post from 1973 to 1983. (April 1997)

Previous gifts: $200,000 through their family foundation for the new Hobby-Eberly Telescope at the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory.

Charles E. and Sarah M. Seay

DALLAS, $11 MILLION $6 million jointly to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, and the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital to pay for the construction of the Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Emergency Pediatric Orthopaedic Treatment and Research. The Seays are UT-Austin graduates; Mr. Seay owns Charles E. Seay Investments, an insurance investment company. (December 1996)

$3 million to UT-Southwestern to help fund the Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Basic and Applied Research in Psychiatric Illness. (September 1995)

$2 million to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. (January 1996).

Previous gifts: More than $12 million to UT-Southwestern.

Philosophy of giving: After two near-death experiences, Mr. Seay has said, “It just seemed God wanted me on this earth to keep working so that I could earn more money and do more good for mankind.”

John J. and Rebecca Moores

HOUSTON, $10 MILLION $10 million to San Diego State University in San Diego, California, for new athletic facilities, the largest gift in the university’s history. $4 million was donated in 1996, the rest in 1997. Mr. Moores, a computer software magnate, is the majority owner of the San Diego Padres.

Previous gifts: A total of more than $75 million to the University of Houston, Mr. Moores’ alma mater; $25 million to the River Blindness Foundation (along with a pledge of another $25 million).

Sam Wyly

IRVING, $10 MILLION $10 million to the Business School of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to expand its Executive Education Center—the second-largest gift ever made to the school. Mr. Wyly, the founder of Sterling Software and the majority shareholder in the Michaels Stores chain, has an MBA from Michigan; he says the gift is payback for getting him started as an entrepreneur.

The Perkins and Prothro Families

DALLAS AND WICHITA FALLS, $10 MILLION $6.5 million to Southern Methodist University from Charles N. and Elizabeth Perkins-Prothro, whose families have interests in oil, ranching, and investments. $4 million will go to fund the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Scholarships at the Perkins School of Theology; $1 million will be used to renovate the Perkins Chapel. The remaining $1.5 million is in the form of a collection of Bibles. (January 1997)

$1 million from Mr. and Mrs. Prothro to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas to fund an endowed chair in orthopedic surgery. (December 1996)

$1 million from Caren and Vin Prothro to SMU to renovate the Perkins Chapel. Mrs. Prothro is an SMU trustee; Mr. Prothro is the chairman and CEO of Dallas Semiconductor Corporation. (December 1995)

$1 million from the Perkins-Prothro Foundation and the Joe and Lois Perkins Foundation to Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to create an endowed chair in the department of religion. A member of the Prothro family is a Wofford alum. (September 1997)

Previous gifts: More than $17.7 million from the Perkins and Prothro families and their family foundations to SMU.

B. J. “Red” and Charline McCombs

SAN ANTONIO, $9 MILLION $6 million to Southwestern University in Georgetown to erect the Red and Charline McCombs Campus Center. The McCombses are Southwestern alums; Mr. McCombs is the chairman of Southwestern’s board of trustees. (January 1996)

$3 million to the University of Texas at Austin for women’s athletics. Mr. McCombs, who is a San Antonio car dealer and a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, attended UT’s business and law schools. A self-described “red-necked, tobacco-chewing Bubba,” he has said the gift “has nothing to do with a gender issue. It has something to do with what’s right and what’s fair.” In recognition of the gift, UT plans to name a softball stadium after him and his wife. (April 1997)

Gerald D. Hines and Family

HOUSTON, $7 MILLION $7 million to the University of Houston’s College of Architecture to create a permanent endowment and pay for scholarly research and design exploration, graduate student fellowships, and interdisciplinary urban design studios. In recognition of the gift, the college has been named the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. Mr. Hines is the chairman of Hines, an international real estate firm. (March 1997)

The Family of Floyd Cailloux

KERRVILLE, $6.4 MILLION $6 million to Schreiner College in Kerrville to fund its new campus activity center—the largest gift in the school’s history. Mr. Cailloux, who died in January, served on the college’s board of trustees. (September 1997)

$400,000 to schreiner college to finance plans for the center. (June 1997)

Edward P. Bass

FORT WORTH, $6 MILLION $6 million to various cultural institutions in Fort Worth. On the occasion of his fiftieth birthday, the financier gave $1 million each to the southwestern exposition and livestock show, the fort worth zoo, the cook children’s medical center, the fort worth museum of science and history, and texas christian university’s f. howard and mary d. walsh performing arts center; another $1 million will be shared by the fort worth symphony, the fort worth—dallas ballet, the fort worth opera, and the van cliburn foundation. (September 1995) previous gifts: $20 million to Yale University.

Eugene and Ronnie Isenberg

HOUSTON, $6 MILLION $6 million to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to pay for new facilities and an endowed professorship in its School of Management. Mr. Isenberg, who is the chairman and CEO of Nabors Industries, one of the world’s leading oil and gas drilling contractors, has a bachelor’s degree from the university. The School of Management will be renamed after the Isenbergs. (June 1997)

Lamar and Norma Hunt

DALLAS, $5 MILLION $5 million to Southern Methodist University to help pay for the construction of a new stadium and an all-sports center. Mr. Hunt, the chairman of Unity Hunt and the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, is an SMU trustee and a co-chair of the university’s capital campaign. (June 1997)

Ray L. and Nancy Ann Hunt

Dallas, $5 million $5 million to Southern Methodist University to help pay for the construction of a new stadium and an all-sports center. Mr. Hunt, the chairman and CEO of Hunt Consolidated, is an SMU alum and trustee and a co-chair of the university’s capital campaign. (June 1997)

Previous gifts: $25 million to SMU to create the Hunt Leadership Scholars, a program that awards full tuition and an academic year’s study abroad to students who have shown exceptional leadership qualities.

W. A. “Tex” Moncrief

FORT WORTH, $5 MILLION $5 million to the University of Texas at Austin to renovate and expand Darrell K. Royal—Texas Memorial Stadium and other UT sports facilities. Mr. Moncrief, the president of Moncrief Oil, is a UT alum. (May 1996)

J. Virgil and June Waggoner

Houston, $5 million $5 million to the University of Texas at Austin for research into the genetic causes of alcoholism. Mr. Waggoner, who has a master’s degree in chemistry from UT, retired last year as the CEO of Sterling Chemicals, a producer of petrochemical products. (August 1997)

Previous gifts: More than $3.3 million to UT-Austin.

Sherrill and Jo Ann Pettus

GRAHAM, $4 MILLION $3 million to Southern Methodist University to help pay for the construction of a new stadium and all-sports center. The Pettuses, who own Southern Bleacher Company, are SMU alums and co-chaired the SMU Parent Fund in 1995-96; Mr. Pettus is on the board of directors of the SMU Alumni Association. (October 1997)

$1 million to smu’s athletic department for new artificial turf and other improvements at Ownby Stadium. (September 1995)

Robert J. and Mary Wright

DALLAS, $4 MILLION $4 million to Austin College in Sherman—the largest gift in the college’s history—to help pay for the construction of a campus center, which will be named after the Wrights. Mr. Wright, the president of Medical Cities and Crow-Wright, which develop and manage health care facilities, is the chairman of the college’s board of trustees. (June 1997)

Robert and Janice McNair

HOUSTON, $3 MILLION $3 million to Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina, to help pay for the new Barbara Bush Center for Science and Technologies. Mrs. McNair is a Columbia alumna; Mr. McNair is the CEO of CoGen Technologies Energy Group, one of the country’s largest non-utility cogenerators of electricity and thermal energy. (October 1996)

Mike A. Meyers

DALLAS, $3 MILLION $3 million to the University of Texas at Austin for athletics. Mr. Myers, the chairman and president of Myers Financial Corporation, is a UT alum. (November 1996)

Robert Ragsdale

AUSTIN, $3 MILLION $3 million to St. Edward’s University in Austin to help pay for the construction of a student center that will be named after his late wife, Pearle. Mr. Ragsdale, who along with his wife trained flight instructors and Navy fliers in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, said he made the gift because he wanted to do something for the cash-poor school that had educated his brother and two nephews. (May 1997)

Previous gifts: $500,000 to St. Edward’s.

John and Debbie Tolleson

DALLAS, $3 MILLION $3 million to Southern Methodist University to endow the deanship of its Edwin L. Cox School of Business; income from the endowment will help pay the dean’s salary and provide resources for new programs at the school. Mr. Tolleson, the chairman of First USA Paymentech, the nation’s third-largest processor of bank card transactions, attended SMU. (September 1997)

Previous gifts: $200,000 to SMU.

Thomas and Dottie Swift

DALLAS, $2.2 MILLION $2.2 million to the Shelton School and Evaluation Center in Dallas—the largest gift in the history of the school, whose students are learning-disabled. $1.26 million will be used for a capital expansion program, including a new early childhood and elementary school; $500,000 is earmarked for the creation of a high school; $240,000 will pay for scholarships; and the remaining $200,000 will be used to expand computer facilities. The Swifts have two children enrolled at Shelton. Mr. Swift, who owns Swift Property, a real estate investment firm, is on the school’s board of trustees. (May 1996)

John R. and Eileen Stanley

Humble, $2.15 million $2.15 million to the Baylor College of Medicine to endow a chair in plastic and reconstructive microsurgery and to fund research in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Mr. Stanley is the CEO of TransTexas Gas Corporation, one of the state’s largest independent producers and marketers of natural gas. (March 1997)

Jack S. and Laura Lee Blanton

Houston, $2 million$2 million to Southern Methodist University to build an academic development complex for undergraduate students, including a classroom, a writing center, a computer lab, and private testing and study areas. The complex will be named for both Mrs. Blanton, an SMU trustee, and Mr. Blanton, the president of Eddy Refining, the chairman of the Houston Endowment (see page 107), and a past chair of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. (February 1997)

Previous gifts: More than $1 million to SMU.

Doris R. Dealey

DALLAS, $2 MILLION $2 million to presbyterian hospital in Dallas to help fund its new child-care center—the single largest donation by an individual to the hospital. Mrs. Dealey made the gift in memory of her husband, Joe M. Dealey, a former chairman and CEO of the A. H. Belo Corporation and president of the Dallas Morning News. (September 1996)

Ernest and Sarah Butler

AUSTIN, $1.5 MILLION $1.5 million to the austin museum of art. Mr. Butler, a retired physician, sits on the museum’s board; he and Mrs. Butler are longtime Austin art patrons. (May 1997)

W. Robert Beavers

DALLAS, $1.4 MILLION$1.4 million to Southern Methodist University to endow a center for the study of family issues. Dr. Beavers, an adjunct professor of psychology at SMU, will be the center’s director. (June 1997)

Dora Lee Byars Langdon

GRANBURY, $1.3 MILLION$1.3 million in real estate to Tarleton State University in Stephenville. Ms. Langdon, a violinist, gave the university a square block in Granbury containing five historic buildings and an acoustically acclaimed recital hall, the largest donation in the school’s history. (June 1996)

John C. and Jeff Wooley

AUSTIN, $1.3 MILLION $1.3 million to the Austin Children’s Museum. “If you look at all the issues that society faces, it all boils down to children,” said John C. Wooley, the president of the Schlotzsky’s restaurant chain (Jeff is the vice president). (June 1996)

John McHale

AUSTIN, $1.25 MILLION $1.25 million to the university of dayton in Ohio to create a basketball complex. Mr. McHale, the founder of NetSpeed, a company that develops high-speed modems for Internet access, is an alumnus of the university. (October 1996)

Robert B. and Candice J. Haas

DALLAS, $1.2 MILLION $1.2 million to Harvard University Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to underwrite visiting professorships in corporate-finance law. Mr. Haas, the chairman and CEO of Haas, Wheat, and Partners, a private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, is an alumnus of the law school. (January 1996)

Kenneth and Ruth Altshuler

DALLAS, $1 MILLION $1 million to southern methodist university to create a learning enhancement center. The donation will also serve as a challenge to others to contribute to the center, which will be expanded and renamed in honor of the Altshulers. Mrs. Altshuler is an SMU trustee and a co-chair of the university’s capital campaign; Dr. Altshuler chairs the department of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. (December 1995)

Previous gifts: A total of more than $3 million to SMU.

Michael and Susan Dell

AUSTIN, $1 MILLION$1 million to the Austin Children’s Museum for its expansion campaign. The Dells have four children. “We put a great value on science and technology,” said Mrs. Dell, whose husband is the chairman of Dell Computer Corporation. (April 1997)

Bob, Jan, and Debbie Duncan

Arlington, $1 million $1 million to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Arlington—the largest the organization has ever received—as part of its long-term fundraising effort. Mr. Duncan runs J. C. Duncan Companies and Arlington Disposal, the city’s garbage disposal company. (May 1996)

Philosophy of giving: “My daddy always said you have to keep giving back to the city you live in,” Mr. Duncan has said.

Virginia Garrett

FORT WORTH, $1 MILLION $1 million to the University of Texas at Arlington in the form of a map collection that gives the university the world’s largest collection of maps of the Southwest. Among the nine hundred maps is a series of Gulf of Mexico maps that dates back to the 1500’s. “I have been fascinated by maps since I was a child,” said Mrs. Garrett, a longtime map collector who is married to former UT System regent Jenkins Garrett. (September 1997)

Jack H. Hamilton

DALLAS, $1 MILLION $1 million to Southern Methodist University to establish an endowed visiting scholars program in geophysics. Mr. Hamilton is the retired chairman of Teledyne Geotech. (October 1997)

John P. and Dorothy Harbin

DALLAS, $1 MILLION $1 million to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas for Alzheimer’s disease research. Mr. Harbin, the chairman and CEO of Lone Star Technologies, is a past director of Zale Lipshy University Hospital, UT-Southwestern’s referral and teaching hospital. (May 1997)

Milledge A. III and Linda Hart

DALLAS, $1 MILLION$1 million to Southern Methodist University to establish a Global Leaders Forum that will operate in conjunction with the university’s John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies. Mr. Hart is the chairman of the Hart Group, an investment company. (December 1996)

Robert T. Hayes

DALLAS, $1 MILLION$1 million to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas to support psychiatric research. Mr. Hayes’s nephew was on the faculty of UT-Southwestern. Mr. Hayes is the chairman of Hayes Leasing Company. (April 1997)

Previous gifts: $1 million to UT-Southwestern.

Beverly Pevehouse

MIDLAND, $1 MILLION $1 million to the stehlin foundation in Houston, a cancer research facility at which her late husband, Joseph, was a patient. Mrs. Pevehouse is a Stehlin trustee. (September 1996)

B. M. “Mack” Rankin

DALLAS, $1 MILLION $1 million to the University of Texas at Austin for athletics. Mr. Rankin, a founder of Freeport-McMoRan, a New Orleans minerals company, is a UT alum. (December 1996)

Robert S. and Marilyn I. Silverthorn

HOUSTON, $1 MILLION $1 million through their family foundation to the Dallas chapter of the alzheimer’s women’s association for resources and education. Mrs. Silverthorn, whose mother had Alzheimer’s disease, spearheaded the gift in the hope of finding a cure for the disease. (January 1996)

Jim and Pat Walzel

HOUSTON, $1 MILLION$1 million to Southwestern University to renovate its physical education center, part of which has been renamed the Walzel Courts and Natatorium. Mr. Walzel, the chairman of HNG Storage, a natural gas storage company, is a Southwestern trustee; the Walzels’ daughter is a Southwestern alum. (June 1995)

Carol Carpenter Winkel

MIDLAND, $1 MILLION $1 million to the University of Texas at Austin for athletics. Mrs. Winkel, the president of Winkel Enterprises, an investment firm, is a UT alumna. (October 1996)

Charles J. Wyly, Jr.

IRVING, $1 MILLION $1 million to Southern Methodist University’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business to endow a professorship in management-information sciences. Mr. Wyly is the vice chairman of Sterling Software. (June 1997)

The Zale Family

DALLAS, $1 MILLION $1 million to Texas A&M University to endow the M. B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership and the Zale Leadership Program. The late M. B. Zale was the founder and CEO of the Zale Corporation; Mr. Zale’s son Donald, the chairman of the M. B. and Edna Zale Foundation, is an Aggie alumnus. (July 1997)

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